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Watch your posture. It's good for your spine and your mood/confidence.

Thanksgiving and Christians

 I know most of you are preparing for this Thursday and I appreciate you taking the time out of your bustling schedule to read this article. 

During this season, I petition every reader to take a deeper look into how we as Christians should be celebrating Thanksgiving. We know there is an American History story tied to the Holiday of Thanksgiving (click here for more information) but for Christians we should, like everyday, take this day to really reflect on God's grace and mercy in our lives. We should cloak ourselves in a spirit of gratitude for where we are AND where we aren't. As the old saying goes, there is someone, somewhere you has it worse than you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 reads, "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." 

You are reading this article, so thank God for your sight. You have electricity to power your computer on an internet service you've paid for (or you have access to); thank God for provision to acquire it all. Your current situation may not be ideal or you may feel like you're at the brink of destruction but thank God you are able to be victorious through Christ Jesus.

Psalm 100:4: "Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name."

So how exactly are we supposed to give thanks to God?

• Give thanks to Him in prayer. I like to open my prayer with thanking Him for who He is. I acknowledge that I could do nothing without Him in my life. During prayer time, I also thank Him for sending His only Son to die for my sins that I may be restored in relationship to God the Father. Psalm 138:2, "I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your unfailing love and your faithfulness, for you have so exalted your solemn decree that it surpasses your fame."
• Repent of our sins. We should never take God's grace for granted. We can't keep sinning and go on with life as usual. Repent means to turn from whatever the immoral act(s) is/are. Acts 2:38 says Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
• Obey His commandments. I'm not referring to the commandments of the Old Testament. We as New Testament believers are no longer under the curse of the law. However, in Matthew 22:37-40, the Word says, "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
• Serve others. While serving God, we can be of service to others. Jesus stated in Matthew 25:40, "And the King shall answer and say unto them, "Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Another profound scripture is Matthew 5:16 which reads, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." This passage is one of the reasons volunteering and financially supporting charities is so important to me.  

How do you plan to show your thanks to God this season? 

The 'D' word...DIETING. - Simple ways to jump start your diet.

Editor's note, when I use the term 'dieting', I am not referring to not eating food or only eating certain foods. My idea of dieting is eating the right kinds of food in the right amount. Once you understand this concept, a diet will become a way of life for you and will result in lasting effects. This is in no way a comprehensive article on how to begin 'dieting'. Please consult your physician before beginning any new regimen.

 

Before starting a diet, it is imperative to write down your goals. Hopefully, your goal isn't to JUST loose weight. In order for your diet to become a part of your life, the goal should invoke an emotion. For example, I want to lose weight so I can ride a bike with my children or I want to get off of high blood pressure medication.

Start by replacing your 12 inch dinner plate to a 6-8 inch 'salad plate'. You've cut 30%-50% of your caloric intake that easily! Don't think you'll be full? Drink a glass of water before your meal and eat slowly.

Next, commit to exercising at least three times a week. No need to start off heavily. Just take a walk around your neighborhood for 30 minutes. Soon enough, you'll build your endurance to exercise an hour five times a week! Whew!

Lastly, tell someone close to you your diet plans. This person should make you accountable for progressing through your diet and reaching your goals. Besides, its easier to stay faithful to your new lifestyle when someone is watching.

Do you have any dieting tips that has worked for you? Feel free to share and submit your comment below.

November is Diabetes Awareness Month

Raise Your Hand to Stop Diabetes This November

Mary Ann, from Bound Brook, NJ, has witnessed the ravages of diabetes firsthand, but she will not let it get her down. “My mother and grandmother both died from diabetes. It is a killer, attacking about every organ you have,” she said.

Now Mary Ann and her brother both have diabetes. “People need to know about diabetes and how they can prevent developing type 2 diabetes or diabetes complications,” she said. “I want to stop diabetes, so I manage my disease well by taking my medicines, checking my blood glucose regularly, watching what I eat and staying informed,” she said.

During American Diabetes Month® this November, the American Diabetes Association is encouraging people to join Mary Ann by taking action and raising their hand to Stop Diabetes. There are many ways to becoming involved by visiting facebook.com/AmericanDiabetesAssociation, stopdiabetes.com, calling 1-800-DIABETES, or texting JOIN to 69866 (standard data and message rates apply).

Nearly 26 million children and adults have diabetes in the United States, including 608,000 in Georgia. An additional 79 million Americans are at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes. The American Diabetes Association estimates that the total national cost of diagnosed diabetes in the United States is $174 billion. Further published studies suggest that when additional costs for gestational diabetes, prediabetes and undiagnosed diabetes are included, the total diabetes-related costs in the U.S. could exceed $218 billion.

Diabetes is a serious disease. If it isn’t managed, it can damage many parts of the body, leading to heart attacks, strokes, amputation, blindness, kidney failure and nerve damage. But there is good news: diabetes complications can be prevented or delayed by properly managing blood glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Eating healthy, being physically active and quitting smoking also can help lower the risk of diabetes complications.

Recent estimates project that as many as one in three American adults will have diabetes in 2050 unless we take steps to Stop Diabetes. We need to rally together, raise our hands, and pledge to end a disease which puts a serious emotional, physical and economic toll on all those affected.

For more information in English and Spanish call 1-800-DIABETES or visit stopdiabetes.com.  Also, follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/AmericanDiabetesAssociation) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/AmDiabetesAssn).

Content provided by: www.diabetes.org (11.12.11)

Sodium Intake Quiz

Most of the sodium we consume is in the form of salt, and the vast majority of sodium we consume is in processed and restaurant foods. Eating less sodium can help prevent, or control, high blood pressure. Click on this widget to find out how much sodium you're eating and how it affects your health.

Salt Intake Widget

Thought For The Day: 11/9/11

Be cautious about who you let into your inner space. People's energy can either affect you negatively or positively.

Healing. You already have it!

Many Christians today accept sickness or even minor ailments as 'a part of life'. Have you heard believers say, 'If it is God's Will, He will heal me.'? Since when did we, as believers, become so comfortable with defeat (yes...physical illness is defeat) when the Word proclaims that Jesus already bore our infirmities? Matthew 8:17

When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we profess that He died for not only our sins but our sicknesses too. Through His death burial and resurrection we obtain complete victory over every attack of the enemy.

Meditate on Ephesians 1:19-21 (KJV):

19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,

21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.

The Word you've just read says that we have the same power and authority within in us that raised Jesus Christ from the dead. That's a lot of power!

However, the enemy has snuck in and deceived many into believing that we are powerless to overcome ailments. However, if you take the attitude that sickness is the enemy trying to steal what the Lord has already given us, you become more aggressive to retain what is yours.

If someone gave you house free and clear and a complete stranger tried to take it, you wouldn't just give it up so easily, would you? That's an analogy for the healing that all believers have been given through Jesus Christ.

"Then where is it?", you say. It's in the spiritual realm waiting for you to receive it. Have faith in what God says is yours, verbally proclaim it, and receive it. The enemy will try to slip doubt in there but don't yield to it. Hold steadfast to what is yours...complete healing.

Healing isn't something that we're trying to obtain...WE HAVE IT! Despite your physical symptoms, what the doctor says, or what your family says...YOU HAVE HEALING!
Click on the 'Scriptures for Health and Healing' tab at the top of this page for reference scriptures and continued reading.